THE HISTORY OF FINCA ISNUL BY DANNY PEREZ:

“This farm has belonged to our mother's family since 1940 and to my grandfather since 1969. It was a small farm, but with hard work and loans, the farm became one of the biggest farms of the region with 160 hectares. Unfortunately, our grandfather passed away on March of 2015. Now his two daughters, Leticia (my mother) and Lorena (my aunt) Anzueto Sandoval are the new owners of the farm...

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Guatemala El Olvido

Please make room for another beautiful coffee from our friends the Perez family. Olvido was a small neighboring farm next to the famed Finca Isnul farm and was absorbed by the Perez’s a few years back. This tropical Pacamara has become a special micro-lot that boasts deep fruits and exotic sweetness. It is a fruit-forward coffee that defies the concept of traditional Guatemalan coffees and has become a staff favorite this Summer.

Origin: Guatemala

Region: Huehuetenango

Farm: Finca Isnul

Producer: The Perez Family

Process: Washed and Raised-bed dried

Elevation: 1750 meters

Variety: Pacamara

Cup: Black Cherry, Almond, Apple, Yogurt

Size:

12oz5lb

$19.50

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THE HISTORY OF FINCA ISNUL BY DANNY PEREZ:

“This farm has belonged to our mother's family since 1940 and to my grandfather since 1969. It was a small farm, but with hard work and loans, the farm became one of the biggest farms of the region with 160 hectares. Unfortunately, our grandfather passed away on March of 2015. Now his two daughters, Leticia (my mother) and Lorena (my aunt) Anzueto Sandoval are the new owners of the farm. We are working the farm with the help of the 5th generation of coffee growers. Starting the process from the ground up, we are now processing, milling, cupping and exporting the finest Guatemalan coffees directly to the best roasters in the world.”

WASHED PACAMARA:

Processing in coffee refers to the conversion of the raw coffee cherry into green coffee, a finished product for roasters to manipulate. Washed coffee can also be known as “wet processed.” It refers to the removal of the fruit that covers the beans (seeds) before they are laid to dry. Density sorts Finca Isnul's coffee by fully immersing the cherries in water. The floaters are taken out of the main harvest and sold as a sub-product. The cherries that drop in water are then squeezed through a screen called a pulper. The fruit/skin travels down one shoot, while the coffee beans go into a large tank. The seeds at this point still are covered in a sticky, mucilage-like substance, think the stringy fruit left on a peach pit.

From here the coffee goes through a 36-hour dry fermentation. This step is a delicate time in processing where bacteria is eating and converting the mucilage and changing the flavor of the coffee. If this fermentation happens for too long and the coffee becomes vinegary, too little and you end up drying coffee with mucilage semi-intact. The coffee is finally set out to dry on raised beds, allowing airflow and even drying among all the beans. All of these steps have to be subtly altered depending on temperature, time of the harvest, rainfall and other factors. The Perez family has shown incredible consistency and attention to detail. We are incredibly honored to showcase this beautiful washed Pacamara from Finca Insul.

We liked the Kalita Wave for this coffee because it brought out a consistent and balanced cup. Black cherry sweetness transitions to tart apple and yogurt with a pleasant nuttiness throughout. A great adventure in the cup even with the classic Guatemala nuttiness that keeps you grounded. Under-extraction made the coffee taste like yogurt and very tart apple. If over-extracted the acidity and fruitiness are lost with a chalky aftertaste.

Wanna know more about how we brew? Then visit our brew methods page cause "this is how we brew it" (think Montell Jordan when reading that last part).

This is a really fun espresso. It’s reminiscent of a Lactic washed coffee with its rich body and yogurt flavor note. Tart cherry up front and strongly followed by the vanilla, yogurt, and apple. Tasty in milk, we liked cappuccinos because the cherry and yogurt shone through giving us a creamy cup. Watch out for under-extraction making a very tart and sour espresso. Over-extraction is similar to our filter recommendations, chalky and drying.

TRANSPARENCY:

Guatemala El Olvido

This is aRelationship Coffeefrom our friends Family Bonds at Finca Isnul. It is our third year to work with Danny and his team. We meet each year in March in Huehuetenango and Guatemala City and his coffees jump off the table every year. We purchased ten 70-kilo GrainPro bags of their Pacamara. We paid $5.05 per pound, andOnyx Coffee (Guatemala)brought the coffee to the states for us. Yes…there are two Onyx Coffees. No…we are not the same company. Yes… we work together and may or may not be ridiculously good friends with them. No…all the dumb mistakes and social media they put out do not reflect our views. :)

- The Coffee Commodity purchase price was $1.18/lb when we purchased this coffee.

- The Fair Trade Coffee minimum price was $1.60/lb when we purchased this coffee.

We as a company believe transparency is unbelievably important. However, we decided only to list what is shown here because we don’t know where to stop. Do we list the amount of coffee lost in roasting due to moisture loss? Should we list our roaster Mark's salary? The warehouse rent? The utilities? The point of listing things above is not to justify what we charge or what we profit, but to give a realistic snapshot of the industry and how Specialty Coffee can be different than other commodity industries. If you have concerns feel free to email us and I’ll write you back when I’m available.

- Jon

Relationship Coffee

Relationship Coffee is an initiative we, at Onyx, have purposely created to describe our sourcing and buying practices and how we document them. Certifications like Direct Trade, Fair Trade, and others have impacted the coffee communities in mostly positive ways but also in some negative ways. We find that blanket terms and applying them to a multitude of business models no longer describes what we do.

In reality, every company is different, and we wanted to step out from the mold and create a new set of standards that exceeds in every department from quality to transparency to pricing. The growers, exporters, importers, associations, cooperatives, and other entities are always a set of relationships. To be honest, many are our friends as much as they are our producers and partners. We share information, family news, meals, housing, many faiths, and argue politics. Oh, and we love it. Relationship Coffee for Onyx is the mark of an honest exchange ethos that permeates our company, and we hope it encourages the growth of specialty coffee for the future.

GOALS

We visited the farm or cupping lab and listened to the producer/agronomist or head cooperative/association to ascertain better knowledge about the culture and practices.

We cupped the coffee, and it scored to our industry-high standards.

We do not buy futures or multiple harvests to ensure that what we cupped for that year is what we serve.

We do not ask for exclusivity from producers, binding their options.

We pay what the coffee is worth. This always is at least double Fair Trade minimum due to the quality we buy, and many times is three to ten times the amount.

We do not finance any coffee. Cash flow is just as important as the final price. Coffee is paid in full upon delivery, and we pay a percentage up front upon contracting.

We are completely transparent from price to logistics to cupping score, to who we work with buying and shipping coffee.

We work to set premiums after a contracted price to incentivize quality and community building. This can be .10¢ - .25¢ extra per pound or community projects such as school supplies in the growing village, sports jerseys, vented chimneys for kitchen fires, etc.